


Walls of Ice to Guard Your Heart

by Lady_Panthea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt No Comfort, I was suffering, Lance is unwilling to make amends, Shiro fucks up, There's a reason Blue uses ice okay?, you guys get to join me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-20 15:17:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13720425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Panthea/pseuds/Lady_Panthea
Summary: “I don’t want to hear any excuses Lance!” Shiro snapped back. “You’ve been in a bad mood all week and now you’re taking it out on Keith. I thought I could depend on you but it seems I was wrong.”The look of pure fury on Lance’s usually smiling face almost scared Shiro. For a moment he thought the younger paladin would launch himself at him like he had Keith. But as quickly as it had appeared, the anger was gone. Lance’s face nothing more than an empty shell, only his glittering eyes showed a hint of emotion as he stood straight, feet together and arms held tightly at his sides.





	Walls of Ice to Guard Your Heart

Lance was not having a good week. Most of the time he was fine with his teams taking their frustrations out on him, it’s what he was good as after all. Provide a smile here, a joke there, force Pidge to sleep and eat, pick fights with Keith so he’d get tired and actually go to bed instead of training all night, help Hunk in the kitchen. But sometimes it all became too much. He knew he wasn’t in the best mood but he’d still agreed to do a couple of drills with Keith, thinking he’d be able to take the abuse, but it was just piling up. 

“Why are you so stupid?” Keith yelled at Lance.

“Fuck off Mullet! It’s not like you had a better plan!”

“Yeah, I did! It involved not almost getting killed by the gladiators!”

“Okay fine! We’ll do it your way next time.”

“We wouldn’t have to do it again if you’d just followed orders!”

“What orders?!” Lance cried in exasperation. “You didn’t give any orders!”

“Yes, I did!”

“No, Keith! You didn’t,” Lance yelled before sighing in defeat. “Okay look. I don’t know what your problem is today. But I’m having a shit day and I need sleep.”

Lance turned and started to make his way to the door.

“It’s like you don’t even care,” Keith snarled. “You’re not even trying. I thought you wanted to go back to your family but instead, you’re just disappointing them.”

“Excuse me?” Lance said with deadly calm, turning back to face his fellow paladin.

Keith knew he had stepped over a line but he was too headstrong to back down. “You heard me. You’re a disappointment. To everyone.”

Lance launched himself at Keith, pummelling the smaller boy with his fists.

“How fucking dare you! I fucking hate you!” He screamed, his fists beating at every inch of Keith he could reach. Keith barely made a move to block him, he kind of deserved it for what he’d said.

Lance didn’t stop hitting him until he was physically removed from Keith by a scowling Shiro.

“Stop it! Both of you!” He yelled, still holding Lance as Keith stumbled to his feet with a growl. “Keith! Take a hike and cool off!”

With a last glare at Lance, Keith did so, quickly leaving the room and heading to the showers to wash off the blood and sweat.

Lance stopped struggling in Shiro’s grip and the black paladin finally let go of him.

“I know you have a rivalry with Keith but this is ridiculous,” Shiro said, turning Lance so he was facing him. “Stop picking fights with him.”

“I didn’t!” Lance exclaimed. “He picked a fight with me!”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, Lance!” Shiro snapped back. “You’ve been in a bad mood all week and now you’re taking it out on Keith. I thought I could depend on you but it seems I was wrong.”

The look of pure fury on Lance’s usually smiling face almost scared Shiro. For a moment he thought the younger paladin would launch himself at him like he had Keith. But as quickly as it had appeared, the anger was gone. Lance’s face nothing more than an empty shell, only his glittering eyes showed a hint of emotion as he stood straight, feet together and arms held tightly at his sides.

Gone was the emotional, smiling boy he’d come to know during their year in space, in his place was a stone-faced young man who stood at attention and stared resolutely at a point just over Shiro’s shoulder.

Inside, Lance was breaking, in front of him was Officer Takashi Shirogane, his leader, his hero. Someone he’d seen as an older brother, someone to rely on. If not that, then at least his friend. But instead, Shiro ignored his feelings in favour of Keith’s. Blaming Lance for all their fights, like Keith wasn’t the one who searched out the blue paladin half the time so he could squabble with him. Lance had trusted Shiro. He’d thought the other man would at least hear him out, but he’d been ignored, pushed aside like a pile of trash that was in the way. Lance was done. He’d reached out to all of them, offering friendship and support and not expecting anything in return. But all he’d gotten was pain. If this was what friendship was to them then fine. He was done. No more emotions. No more friends. Just Cadet McClain, reporting for duty and here to serve the cause. A soldier.

Shiro stopped, staring at the boy in front of him in astonishment. Lance’s constant movement had ceased, he stood like a soldier awaiting orders. He didn’t speak to fill the silence between them like he usually would have.

“Lance?” Shiro asked quietly.

“Yes, Sir!” Lance replied, eyes snapping to Shiro, though not meeting his eyes.

“What’s going on?” He was confused and had no idea how to deal with this new Lance.

“Nothing, Sir! You are correct. I should not antagonize Cadet Kogane, sir!” Lance said, still staring steadfastly at Shiro.

“Cadet?”

“Yes, Captain Shirogane, sir! All members of the Garrison should be addressed by their proper titles, sir!” Lance replied.

“Lance,” Shiro said with a sigh, “we’re not at the Garrison anymore. You don’t need to call me or anyone else by their titles.”

“With all due respect, sir. I am a soldier. There is no place for emotion in war.”

It breaks Shiro’s heart to hear Lance reduced to this, and that he is partially to blame. He knows he will be unable to talk to Lance normally for a while so, with a sigh, he turns away to set up the training room, planning to vent some frustration. It’s only when he turns to begin his stretches that he notices that Lance hasn’t moved from the spot he left him.

“Lance?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Why are you still here?”

“I have not been dismissed, Sir!”

Shiro swears he can hear his heart shatter as he mumbles a quiet, “Dismissed, Cadet,” and watches Lance give him a sharp salute and march neatly from the room. After that, he can’t even muster up the energy to go through with the training. All he feels is empty.

-

It takes a few days for Shiro to realise how much he fucked up. Every time he has approached Lance, he finds himself faced with the stony-faced cadet he met in the training hall rather than his friend. Lance doesn’t even pick fights with Keith, merely giving him curt but polite answers when the red paladin tries to engage him in their usual playful rivalry. Shiro supposes he’s to blame for that too. He occasionally hears Lance laughing and joking with Pidge and Hunk but even that is less frequent than it used to be. As soon as Shiro steps into sight, Lance snaps to attention and asks if there’s ‘anything he can do to help Captain Shirogane, sir.’ He never fully relaxes in front of Shiro, the most he does is stand at ease when Shiro gives the command. Otherwise, he stares straight ahead with purpose, the blank face of a soldier who’s seen too much to let it affect him. His emotions hidden by the walls of ice his lion is so well known for. 

Forming Voltron becomes a chore rather than a pleasure, there’s an obvious void where Lance’s bubbling energy used to be. Though the links Lance has with Hunk and Pidge are still strong enough to hold them together, all Shiro can feel is cold.

Lance is no longer a merrily babbling stream, full of life and joyful energy. He is ice. His gaze is frozen and Shiro is forced to face reality. He’s completely lost the trust of one of his paladins and he probably won’t ever get it back.


End file.
